SOIL MECHANICS

Written Report

Chapter 2
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS
AND SOIL INVESTIGATIONS

Submitted by: Group 1

Nicole C. Salvador
Bryan A. Trajano
Jerbie GC. Concepcion
Submitted to:
Engr. Edgardo P. Pea

Chapter 2:
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS AND SOIL INVESTIGATIONS

Introduction:
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to soil. We will deal with:

Description of soils.
Tests to determine the physical characteristics of soil.
Soil-Classification
Methods of soil investigation

And when you complete this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe and classify soil

Determine the particle size distribution in a soil mass
Determine the proportions of the main constituents in a soil
Determine the index properties of soils
Determine the rate of flow of water through soils
Determine the maximum dry unit weight and optimum water content
Plan a soil investigation

Geotechnical Engineer- An engineer whose primary task is to collect, to

classify, and investigate the physical characteristics of soils.
Definition of Key Terms:
Soils Materials that are derived from the weathering of rocks.
Water content is the ration of the weight of water to the weight of solids.
Void ratio is the ratio of the volume of void space to the volume of solids.
Porosity is the ratio of the volume of void to the total volume of soil.
Degree of saturation is the ratio of the volume of water to the volume of
void.
Bulk Unit weight is the weight density, that is, the weight of the soil per
unit volume.
Saturated unit weight is the weight of a saturated soil per unit volume.
Dry unit weight is the weight of a dry soil per unit volume.
Effective Unit weight is the weight of soil solids in a submerged soil per
unit volume.
Relative density is an index that quantifies the degree of packing
between the loosest and densest state of coarse-grained soils.
Effective Particle size is the average particle diameter of the soil at 10
percentile, that is, 10% of the particles are smaller that this size.
Average Particle diameter is the average particle diameter of the soil.
Liquid limit is the water content at which a soil changes from a plastic
state to a liquid state.
Plastic limit is the water content at which a soil changes from a semisolid
to a plastic state.

Shrinkage limit is the water content at which a soil changes from a solid
to a semisolid state without further change in volume.
Groundwater is water under gravity in excess of that required to the fill
soil pores.
Head is the mechanical energy per unit weight.
Coefficient of permeability - is a proportionally constant to determine the
flow velocity of water though soils.
Maximum dry unit weight is the maximum unit weight that a soil can
attain using a specified means of compaction.
Optimum water content is the water content required to allow a soil to
attain its maximum dry unit weight.

Compositon of Soils:
1. Soil Formation:
Soils ate formed from the physical and chemical weathering of rocks.
Physical weathering involves:

Change in the size without change in the composition

Exfoliation
Unloading
Erosion
Freezing
Thawing

Chemical weathering involves:

Causes both reduction to size and chemical composition

Hydration
Carbonation
Oxidation

Residual Soils soils that remain in the site of weathering.

Alluvial Soils soils that are transported by rivers or streams.
Glacier Soils soils that are transported and deposited by glacier.
Marine Soils are deposited in the marine environment.

2. Soil Types:
Texture appearance or feel of soils.

Gravel
Sands
Silts
clays

Coarse-Grained:

Sand
Gravel

Fine-Grained:

Clays
Silts

Currently, many soil descriptions and soil types are in usage:

Calcareous soil contains calcium carbonate and effervesces when

treated with hydrochloric acid.
Caliche consists of gravel, sand, and clay cemented together by
calcium carbonate.
Expansive soils are clays that undergo large volume changes from
cycles of wetting and drying.
Glacial soils are mixed soils consisting of rock debris, sand, silt,
clays, and boulders.
Glacial till is a soil that consists mainly of coarse particles.
Gypsum is calcium sulphate formed under heat and pressure from
sediments in ocean brine.
Laterific soils are residual soils that are cemented with iron oxides
and are found in tropical regions.
Loam is a mixture of sand, silt, and clay that may contain organic
material.
Loess is a wind-blown, uniform fine-grained soil.
Mud is clay and silt mixed with water into a viscous fluid.

3. Clay Minerals:
Minerals are crystalline materials and make up the solids constituent of
soil. Minerals are classified according to chemical composition and structure.
Most minerals of interest to geotechnical engineers are composed of
oxygen and silicon two of the most abundant elements on earth.
Silicates group of minerals with a structural unit called the tetraheron.

Silica tetrahedrons - This fundamental structural unit consists of

a silicon cation surrounded by four oxygen anions, giving it four
negative charges.
Silica sheets - thin layers of silica tetrahedrons in which three oxygen
ions are shared between adjacent tetrahedrons.
Single aluminum octahedrons an aluminum ion surrounded by six
oxygen ion in an octahedron.
Aluminum sheets combination of alumina minerals.

Crystalline Minerals:

Kaolnite has a structure that consists of one silica sheet and one
alumina sheet bonded together in a layer about 0.72 nm thick and
stacked repeatedly. The layers are held together by hydrogen bonds.

Illite consists of repeated layers of one alumina sheet sandwiched

together by two silica sheets. Thickness at 0.96 nm and held together
by potassium ions.
Montmorillonite a structure similar to illite, but the layers are
bonded together by weak van der Waals forces and exchangeable ions.

4. Surface Forces and Absorbed Water:

If we subdivided a body, the ratio of its surface area to its volume
increases.

Surface Forces:
Because of large surfaces, surface forces significantly influence the
behavior of fine-grained soils compared to coarse-grained soils.
The surface charges on fine-grained soils are negative. These negative
surface charges attract cations and positively charged side of water
molecules from surrounding water. Consequently, a thin film of layer of
water, called absorbed water, is bonded to the mineral surfaces. This thin
film or layer of water is known as the diffuse double layer. The largest
concentration of cations occurs at the mineral surface and decreases
exponentially with distance away from the surface.

Double Diffuse Layer

Absorbed Water:
Drying of most soils, with the exception of gypsum, using an oven for
which the standard temperature is 105 5C, cannot remove the absorbed
water. The absorbed water influences the way a soil behaves.

5. Soil Fabrics:
Soil particles are assumed to be rigid. The mineral particles are
arranged in a structural framework called soil fabrics. Soil fabrics are
affected by the environment it occurs and influenced the structure of a
framework.

Flocculated Structure:
Form under:

Saltwater flocculated structure, form under a saltwater

environment, results when many particles tent to orient parallel to
each other.
Freshwater - flocculated structure, form under a freshwater
environment, results when many particles tent to orient perpendicular
to each other.

Dispersed Structure:
A result when majority of the structure is parallel to each other.

COMPARISON OF COARSE-GRAINED AND FINE-GRAINED SOILS FOR

ENGINEERING USE
Coarse-grained soils have good load-bearing capacities and good
drainage qualities, and their strength and volume change characteristics are
not significantly affected by change in moisture conditions. They are
practically incompressible when dense, but significant volume changes can
occur when they are loose.
Fine-grained soils have poor load-bearing capacities compared
with coarse-grained soils. They are practically impermeable, change volume
and strength with variations in moisture conditions, and are frost susceptible.
The engineering properties of coarse-grained soils are controlled
mainly by the grain size of the particles and their structural arrangement
while the engineering properties of fine-grained soils are controlled by
mineralogical factors rather than grain size. Thin layers of fine-grained soils,
even within thick deposits of coarse-grained soils, have been responsible
for many geotechnical failures and therefore you need to pay special
attention to fine-grained soils.

THE ESSENTIAL POINTS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE:

1. Soils are derived from the weathering of rocks and are commonly
described by textural terms such as
- Gravels

2.
3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

- Sands
- Silts
- Clays.
Particle size is used to distinguish various soil textures.
Clays are composed of three main types of minerals
- Kaolinite
- Illite
- Montmorillonite
The clay minerals consist of silica and alumina sheets that are
combined to form layers. The bonds between layers play a very
important role in the mechanical behaviour of clays. The bond
between the layers in montmorillonite is very weak compared with
kaolinite and illite. Water can easily enter between the layers in
montmorillonite, causing swelling.
A thin layer of water is bonded to the mineral surfaces of soils and
significantly influences the physical and mechanical characteristics
of fine-grained soils.
Fine-grained soils have much larger surface areas than coarsegrained and fine-grained soils and are responsible for the major
physical and mechanical differences between coarse and finegrained soils.
The engineering properties of fine-grained soils depend mainly on
mineralogical factors.

PHASE RELATIONSHIPS
Soil is composed of solids, liquids, and gases. The solid phase may be
mineral, organic matter, or both. The spaces between the solids or soil
particles are called voids. Water is the predominant liquid and air is the
predominant gas. The soil water is commonly called pore water and it plays
a very important role in the behaviour of soils under load. If all voids are
filled by water, the soil is saturated. Otherwise, if all the voids are filled with
air, the soil is said to be dry or unsaturated.
We can idealize the three phases of soil as shown in the figure below.
The physical properties of soils are influenced by the relative proportions of
each of these phases.

The total volume of the soil is the sum of the volume of solids (Vs),
volume of water (Vw), and volume of the air (Va): that is,

V = Vs + Vw + Va = Va + Vu
Volume of Soil

Where

Vu = Vw + Va
Volume of Voids
The weight of the soil is the sum of the weight of solids (Ws) and the
weight of water (Ww). The weight of air is neglible. Thus,

W = Ws + Ww
Weight of Soil
The following definitions have been established to describe the
proportion of each constituent in soil. Each equation can be presented with
different variables. The most popular and convenient forms are given.
1. Water content (w) is the ratio, often expressed as a percentage, of
the weight of solids:

w = Ww x 100%
Ws
Water Content

The water content of a soil is found by weighing a sample of the soil

and then placing it in an oven at 110+- 5C until the weight of the sample
remains constant; that is, all the absorbed water is driven out. For most soils,
a constant weight is achieved in about 24 hours. The soil is removed from
the oven, cooled, and then weighed.

2. Void Ratio (e) is the ratio of the volume of void space to the volume
of solids. Void ratio is usually expressed as a decimal quantity.

e = Vv
Vs
Void Ratio
3. Specific Volume (V) is the volume of soil per unit volume of solids:

V = V = 1 + e
Vs
Specific Volume

4. Porosity (n) is the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume.
Porosity is usually expressed as a percentage.

n = Vu
V
Porosity
Porosity and void ratio are related by the expression

n=

1+e
To prove this equation, the total volume will be decomposed into the volume
of solids and the volume of voids and then both the numerator and
denominator will be divided by the volume of solids, that is,

n = Vu =
Vu/Vs =
Vu/Vs

V
1+e

Vs + Vu

Vu
e

=
Vs/Vs +

5. Specific Gravity (Gs) is the ratio of the weight of the soil solids to the
weight of water of equal volume:

Gs = Ws
Vsyw
Specific Gravity

Where yw = 9.81 kN/m3 is the unit weight of water. The Specific gravity
of soils ranges from approximately 2.6 to 2.8, but for most problems, G s can
be assumed, with little error, equal to 2.7.
6. Degree of saturation (S) is the ratio, often expressed as a
percentage, of the volume of water to the volume of voids:

S = Vw = wGs

or Se =wGs

Vu
Degree of saturation
If S = 1 or 100%, the soil is saturated. If S = 0, the soil is bone dry. It
is practically impossible to obtain a soil with S = 0.
7. Unit weight (y) is the weight of a soil per unit volume. We also use
the term bulk unit weight.

y = W = Gs + Se yw
V
1+e
Unit weight
Special Cases:
a. Saturated Unit Weight (S = 1):

ysat =

Gs + e yw
1+e

b. Dry Unit Weight:

yd= Ws
V

Gs

yw = y

1+e

1+w

c. Effective or Buoyant unit weight is the weight of a saturated

soil, surrounded by water, per unit volume of soil:

Y = Ysat - Yw = Gs - 1 yw
1+e
Typical values of unit weight of soils:
SOIL TYPE

ysat(kN/m3)

Gravel

yd (kN/m3)

20-22

15-17

Sand

18-20

13-16

Silt

18-20

14-18

Clay

16-22

14-21

8. Relative Density (Dr) is an index that quantifies the degree of

packing between the loosest and densest possible state of coarsegrained soils as determined by experiments:

Dr = emax e
emax - emin
Relative Density

Where emax is the maximum void ratio (loosest condition), emin is the
minimum void ratio (densest condition), and e is the current void ratio.
The Maximum void ratio is found by pouring dry sand while the
minimum void ratio is determined by vibrating the sand with a weight
imposing a vertical stress of 13.8kPa on top of the sand. Vibration occurs
for 8 minutes at a frequency of 3600Hz and amplitude of 0.064mm.

emax = Gs yw (V/W)
Maximum void ratio

emin = Gs yw (V/W) 1
Maximum void ratio

Description based on Relative Density

Dr(%)
Description
0-15
Very loose
15-35
Loose
36-65
Medium dense
65-85
Dense
85-100
Very Dense

PROVE THE FOLLOWING EQUATIONS:

Strategy. The proofs of these equations are algebraic manipulations. Start
with basic definition and then manipulate the basic equation algebraically to
get the desired form.

1.

S=

wG s
e

Solution:
(a) For this relationship, we proceed as follows :
Step 1: Write down the basic equation,
Vw
S = Vu
Step 2: Manipulate the equation. You want to get e in the denominator
and you have Vu. You know that Vu= eVs and Vw is the weight of water
divided by the unit weight of water. From the definition of water
content, the weight of water is wWs. Here is the algebra:
Ww
wWs
Vu = eVs
;
Vw = w
= = w

S=
2.

d = =

1+ w

Vw
ewVs

GsW
e

Solution :
(b)For this relationship, we proceed as follows :
Step 1 : Write down the basic equation,

d =

Ws
V

Step 2 : Manipulate the equation to get the new form of the equation.

d
=

Ws
V

W Ww
V

W
V

wWs
V

wd
d + wd =
d =

3.

1+ w

G s+ Se

1+e

=(

G s w(1+w)
1+ e

w =

Solution:
(c) For this relationship, we proceed as follows :

Step 1: Start with the basic equation

W
V

Step 2 : Manipulate the equation to get the new form of the equation.

Substituting w =

=
=(

W
V

Ws +Ww
Vs+Vu

Se /Gs

Ws + wWs
Vs+Vu

and Vu = eVs, we obtain

Ws (1+Se /Gs)
Vs(1+e )
Gs+ Se
1+ e

Gs w(1+ Se /Gs)
(1+e )

Sample Problems
1. A sample of saturated clay was placed in a container and weighed. The
weight was 6N. The clay in its container was placed in an oven for 24
hours at 105 0C. The weight reduced to a constant value of 5N. The

weight of the container is 1N. If Gs = 2.7, determine the (a) water

content, (b) void ratio, (c) bulk density, (d) dry unit weight, and (e)
effective unit weight.
Strategy. Write down what is given and then use the appropriate
equations to find the unknowns. You are also given a saturated soil,
which means that S = 1
Solution
Step 1 : Write down what is given.
Weight of sample + container = 6N
Weight of dry sample + container = 5N
Step 2 : Determine the weight of water and the weight of dry soil.
Weight of water = 6 - 5 = 1N
Weight of dry soil = 5 - 1 = 4N
Step 3 : Determine the water content

w=

Ww
Ws

1
4

100 =

x 100 =

25%

Step 4 : Determine the void ratio.

e =

wGs
S

0.25 x 2.7
1

0.675

Step 5 : Determine the bulk unit weight.

W
V

Gs w(1+ w)
1+ e

2.7 X 9.8(1+0.25)
1+0.675

= 19.7

kN /m3

Step 6 : Determine the dry unit weight.

d =
15.8

Ws
V

Gs
1+ e

) w

2.7
1+0.675

9.8 =

kN /m3

or
d =
Step 7 :

(1+w)

19.7
(1+0.25)

15.8

Determine the effective unit weight.

kN /m3

Gs1
1+ e

2.71
1+0.567

) w =

x 9.8 = 9.9

kN /m3

or
=

sat - w

kN /m3

= 19.7 - 9.8 = 9.9

2. An embankment for a highway is to be constructed from a soil

compacted to a dry unit weight of 18 kN /m3 . The clay has to be
trucked to the site from a borrow pit. The bulk unit weight of the soil in
the borrow pit is 17 18 kN /m3 and its natural water content is 5 %.
Calculate the volume of the clay from the borrow pit required for 1
cubic meter of embankment. Assume Gs= 2.
Strategy. This problem can be solved by two ways.

Solution
Step 1 : Find the dry unit weight of the borrow pit soil.

(1+w)

17
(1+0.05)

kN /m3

16.2

Step 2 : Find the volume of borrow pit soil required.

Volume of borrow pit soil required
=

( d ) compacted soil
( d ) borrow pit soil

per m3

18
16.2

= 1.11 m3

Alternatively:
Step 1 : Define parameters for the borrow pit and embankment
V1, e1

specific volume and void ratio, respectively, of borrow pit clay

V2, e2

volume and void ratio, respectively, of compacted clay

Step 2 : Determine e1 and e2

d
but

(1+w)

17
1+0.05

16.2

kN /m3

Gs
(1+e 1)

and therefore

e1

Gs

w
d

- 1

2.7(

9.8

16.2

Gs

w
d

- 1

2.7(

9.8

18

- 1 =

0.633

similarly,

e2

- 1

0.47

Step 3 : Find the volume of borrow pit soil

V = e1
V =
V

e2

0.633

+ 0.47

= 1.103 m3

A CRITICAL STATE MODEL TO INTERPRET

SOIL BEHAVIOR

The emphasis in this chapter will be on using the Critical State Model
to provide a generalized understanding of soil behaviour rather than on
mathematical formulation.
The Critical State Model (CSM) is a simplification, and an
idealization of soil behaviour. However the CSM captures the behaviour of
soils that are of greatest importance to geotechnical engineers. The central
idea in CSM is that all soils will fail on a unique failure surface in space.
According to the CSM, the failure stress state is insufficient to guarantee
failure; the soil structure must also be loose enough.
The CSM is a tool to make estimates of soil responses when you cannot
conduct sufficient soil tests to completely characterize a soil at a site or
when you have predict the soils response from changes in loading during
and after construction. Although there is a debate on the application of CSM
to real soils, the ideas behind the CSM are simple. It is a very powerful tool to
get insights into soil behaviour, especially in the case of the what-if
situation.
The essential points in Critical State Model are:
1. To estimate failure stresses for soil
2. To estimate strains at failure

3. To predict stress-strain characteristics of soils from a few

parameters obtained from simple soil tests
4. To evaluate possible soil stress states and failure if the loading on a
geotechnical system were to change